Governor Greg Abbott has appointed JD Robertson to the Office of Independent Ombudsman for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to a term set to expire on February 1, 2019. The Independent Ombudsman is a state agency established for the purpose of investigating, evaluating, and securing the rights of the children committed to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

JD Robertson of Wimberley is a retired Major with the Texas Rangers with more than 27 years of service to the Texas Department of Public Safety. As a former Commander of the Texas Rangers Special Operations Group, he managed the special weapons and tactics team, bomb squad, reconnaissance team, special response teams, crisis negotiations unit, and border security operations. He is a member of the FBI National Academy Associates and a former member of the National Tactical Officers Association and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts. Robertson was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force after six years of service. He is also a graduate of both the FBI National Academy and the United States Naval Post Graduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security Executive Leadership Program. Robertson received an Associates of Applied Science with a focus on Industrial Security from the Community College of the Air Force, a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from the University of Maryland University College, and a Master of Science in applied criminology from Texas A&M University – Commerce.